Nudging resource-efficient choices

How can decision making with consequences for the environment be improved? Historically, suboptimal behaviors have been heavy-handedly regulated through laws and taxes.

Recently we have witnessed an increased interest in- and use of approaches involving lighter externally focused behavioral interventions that do not rely on laws.These “nudges” typically involve changes to the “choice architecture” of a decision, by, for example, changing the default option of a choice (Johnson & Goldstein, 2003).

While these behavioral interventions have proven somewhat effective in temporarily improving or changing certain decision behaviors, they are non-optimal for lasting behavioral changes.

In the present research project, we test a novel form of behavioral intervention (”nudge 2.0”) that is a simple decision aid based on the notion of mindful decision making: When making decisions, people tend to underthink consequences of a decision and/or underweight other attributes than the most focal.

In a large field experiment, we will establish the effectiveness of the introspection aid in producing better environmental decisions.

We will compare three conditions (control, classic nudge, and introspection) and compare the difference in change in subjective and objective indicators of environmental behavior (water and electricity use).

The project is interdisciplinary with partners from psychology, behavioral economics, cognitive science, service design. and stakeholders